Board carrier

ABSTRACT

A compact and versatile device designed to aid the safe lifting and carrying (in an upright position) of large and awkward man-made sheet materials used in the construction industry, so developed to reduce the hazardous and tiring act of bending the back or legs in order to lift heavy sheet materials in common use. The tool is made of strong and durable materials, whilst remaining small enough to be carried easily on the person, so remaining ready for immediate use and consequently more likely to be used than some other, sometimes complicated, devices already on the market. The device consists of a strong carrying shoe suitable to support the lower edge of the sheet material, with a loop of strong but flexible webbing strap which is secured through a purpose-made slot in the carrying shoe. This strap, when wrapped around the operatives hand or wrist, forms an easy means by which a board may then be lifted clear of the ground, and carried away to another place.

BACKGROUND OF THE INVENTION

[0001] Since the 1980s, man-made sheet materials have become morepopular for use in the construction industry and by the home ‘handyman’.With the advent of Medium Density Fiberboard (MDF), the average weightof such materials has also increased, with a standard sized 25 mm thicksheet weighing approx. 70 kg, sheets are becoming difficult to lift, andare creating the right conditions for back injuries to occur.

[0002] Hand-held sheet carriers designed to aid lifting already exist.Some of these are complicated, are expensive to manufacture andtherefore expensive to purchase. Because of this, such devices areunlikely to be in common use. For example U.S. Pat. No. 5,257,843 issuedto Nunn, Nov. 2, 1993, whose technicality and attention to detail iscommendable, but not necessarily of a design able to withstand therigours of construction site work.

[0003] U.S. Pat. No. 4,098,442 issued to Moore, Jul. 4, 1978 shows acarrier having two metal plates, connected by a rigid centre column.

[0004] U.S. Pat. No. 4,695,085 issued to Cassels, Sep. 22, 1987,describes one similar to Moore, but with pivoted and angled connectingrods or bars.

[0005] U.S. Pat. No. 4,113,160 to Spiers, issued Sep. 12, 1978, shows 2metal plates acting at opposite edges of the carried sheet, requiring atightening element.

[0006] Each of these devices are large, rigid, require adjustment, andare potentially expensive to purchase. Whilst the present inventiondescribed within may perform the same task, it is different in essentialrespects.

BRIEF SUMMARY OF THE INVENTION

[0007] This invention is a small hand-tool designed to ease the manuallifting and carrying of potentially heavy man-made sheet materials.

[0008] There are such devices on the market already but many fail to bein common use due to their complexity, awkwardness, size, or initialpurchase cost.

[0009] For a tool to be used it must be able to fulfil its task, be easyto understand and use, be to hand and ready for use when required; Forconstruction site use it must also be versatile and tough.

[0010] The Board Carrier has been designed to be easy to carry aroundand easy to operate. This carrier is so small and flexible it can bekept in the toolbag or slipped into the pocket, so simple and strongthat it is unlikely to be broken, and so cheap to make and to buy thatit should become available to all—and more likely to be used—so reducingthe likelihood of back or muscle strain which is the cause of so muchtime off work due to injury.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

[0011]FIG. 1 is an isometric view, which shows the webbing strap passingthrough slot

[0012]FIG. 2 is a front elevation, (without strap shown, for clarity)

[0013]FIG. 3 is a sectional view along line A-A

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF THE INVENTION Design

[0014] Referring to the drawing (page 9), the device comprises a rigid‘L’ section shoe of dimensions suitable for carrying wood/plaster-basedboard without causing damage to the board edge. This component can bemade from plastics/nylon, or steel/light alloy, but must be durable, andable to withstand rough handling on a construction job site.

[0015] The small front upstand x must be deep enough to safely retainthe sheet material being lifted/carried, but not so deep as to hinderthe tools' use.

[0016] The larger rear face y includes a slot through which the carryingstrap passes. The strap g should be of a length, width, flexibility, andstrength to provide a comfortable and safe means of manually lifting andcarrying sheet material, which can weigh as much as 70 kg.

Use

[0017] It is envisaged that one, or a number of boards, would be stackedagainst a wall or solid item, and stood upon at least two timber battensor laths laid on the ground. Whilst holding the carrier by the strap,the shoe can be offered to the approximate center of the lower edge ofthe board, the front upstand x may then be passed underneath one or twoboards as desired, and with the other hand controlling the top edge, theboard can be raised off the floor by simply straightening the shouldersand tilting the body away from the board. The operative may then walkaway with the board, without once bending his or her back. The top edgeis now approximately level with the shoulder, allowing good visibilityand also saving the need to ‘duck’ under doorways/lintels/scaffold whichis normally commonplace when carrying a 4 ft high sheet in the hand.

Manufacture

[0018] The ideal material for the shoe is steel, as this is easy towork, and the finished product is then resistant to breakage by beingdropped from height, and by the sheet material being accidentallydropped upon it.

[0019] Guillotined squares of 2.5 mm thick mild steel have the slotpunched out and de-burred (to protect the webbing strap), then foldedtwice to form the upstands. These shoes can then be painted or otherwisetreated, to protect against corrosion.

[0020] The strap can be from polypropylene webbing, ideally 30 mm widthfor comfort, approximately 1400 mm long, passed through the horizontalslot then lapped and double stitched to form a strong and reliable loopof around 700 mm in length. Dimensions a: between 65 mm-170 mm (optimumdimension 100 mm) b: between 40 mm-100 mm (optimum dimension 70 mm) c:between 12 mm-45 mm (optimum dimension 30 mm) d: between 4 mm-25 mm(optimum dimension 14 mm) e: between 12 mm-60 mm (optimum dimension 35mm) f: between 1 mm-7 mm (dependant upon material used) g: Strap. Theideal would be a man-made webbing strong enough to fulfil the task, andcomfortable in use. This may or may not be adjustable in length by meansof a buckle.

1. I claim as my invention a compact, rigid and durable, hand-sizedopen-ended ‘L’ section carrier shoe with the capacity to retain sheetmaterials within its upstands, having a slot to retain a loop offlexible man-made webbing strap providing the means of manually liftingand carrying sheet materials in an upright position.
 2. A hand-sizedcarrying shoe with strap as claimed in claim 1 , wherein a fixed orremovable insert of protective soft material is provided for the carriedsheet to sit upon.
 3. A hand-sized carrying shoe with strap as describedin claim 1 or claim 2 , wherein an adjustable-length strap is providede.g. by means of a buckle or other similar device.